When you apply to the waiting list, ask your department to email us directly at graduatehousing@mit.edu with your name, department, the person you are affiliated with, and the length of your stay.

If you receive a housing assignment, it will expire on August 15 regardless of the move-in date. If you will be remaining on campus the next year, you must reapply to the waiting list.

Who is eligible

To be eligible for a visitor assignment, you must provide documentation that proves that you are visiting MIT in an official capacity:

cross-registered, special, and visiting students

postdocs and researchers

visiting professors and lecturers

Alumni, families of students, and Draper, Broad, and Whitehead employees are not eligible.

Housing options

Because our first priority is to house fully-registered graduate students, visitors are very rarely assigned to efficiencies or one-bedroom apartments, our most popular living options. If these are the only types of assignments you are interested in, it is unlikely that you will receive an assignment.

The Off-Campus Housing section of this website provides extensive advice and information for members of the community who are planning to live off campus.

If you are a visiting faculty, researcher or scientist and interested in being a part of an undergraduate community, The Residential Scholars Program at Simmons Hall may be an option for you. Learn more about this program. Please note this program is not available to post docs.

Terminating your assignment before August 15

Under certain circumstances, visitors can terminate their assignments early. You must follow the procedures exactly to avoid extra charges. Terminating at the wrong time of year can cost you a lot of money.

You must submit your termination request at least 30 days before your termination date. To terminate for April 30, for example, you must submit your request by March 31.

You must pay rent for the entire month in which you are moving out. For example, if you leave MIT on April 10, you must still pay rent for the entire month of April.

If you terminate your assignment in February, March, September, or October, you will be charged a termination fee equal to one month’s rent.

For details about termination policies, consult the Moving Out section of this website.

Sublicensing for the summer or IAP

If you need housing on or after the sublicense start date specifed on the sublicense center page, you may sublicense a room on campus from a current resident.

Details of the sublicense are arranged between you and the student (the sublicensor).

You must provide proof of MIT affiliation to the Housing Office.

Visitors with families may sublicense family housing apartments in Eastgate and Westgate.